A memorial service will be held today for Maya Ishibashi, who for more than four decades sold produce grown by her husband at fruit stands in Torrance.

Born Feb. 7, 1932, in Los Angeles, Ishibashi died on Nov. 23 at Torrance Memorial Medical Center. She was 77.

The Lomita resident, whose given first name was Mayako, had been in poor health for the last four years or so, said her daughter, Marcia Oto.

Ishibashi was known to thousands of South Bay residents who bought strawberries, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables, first from the stand on Pacific Coast Highway, beginning in 1964.

The development of an automobile dealership prompted the stand to move in about 1984 to Crenshaw Boulevard near Torrance Municipal Airport. Declining health forced her to stop working there in the fall of 2005.

The familiar stands were open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. seven days a week from March through October.

“The ranch was my mom’s life and being with people and running the stand was something that really made her happy,” Oto said.

“She was such a great listener and was just very interested in people in general. She could tell you who was who, what job they had and how they knew each other. She was just a great connector.”

The family-run stand remains open; a cousin of Oto’s now helps her octogenarian father, who still tends crops grown on land at Torrance airport, run it.

The Ishibashis are part of an extended family that has farmed in Torrance and on the Palos Verdes Peninsula for at least 90 years.

In addition to her husband and daughter, she is survived by a son, Thomas Ishibashi; another daughter, Mimi Tamura; and 10 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Today’s service is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. at Riviera United Methodist Church, 375 Palos Verdes Blvd., Redondo Beach.

Veteran journalist Nick Green is the beat reporter for the cities of Torrance, Carson and Lomita and also covers the South Bay's rapidly growing craft beer industry for the Daily Breeze. He has worked for newspapers on the West Coast since graduating in 1987 from the University of Washington and lives in Old Torrance with his wife and two cats. Follow him on Twitter @NickGreen007 and @BeerGogglesLA.